This article is part of a folio on Hélène Cixous. Click here to read the rest of the folio.
In 2003, Hélène Cixous published Rêve je te dis (Dream I Tell You), a book of her dreams, addressed to her friend Jacques Derrida and offered without any analysis or commentary. The lyrics of this new song by the band DAYS—a collaboration between singer Ned Riseley and cellist Ethan Philbrick—are drawn from Cixous’s preface to the collection, as translated by Beverley Bie Brahic.
Listen to DAYS perform "Dream I Tell You."
It writes itself unanalyzed The dream commands my hand Deciphering the illegible More than I can understand Dream hand Dream box Dream hand Dream box Dream theater Give pain the food it demands Without dreams death would be mortal It writes itself unanalyzed The dream commands my hand Deciphering the illegible More than I can understand Dream hand Dream box Dream hand Dream box Dream theater Give pain the food it demands Without dreams death would be mortal Consider the weight of each dream Or of a thought Or of a kiss Or of a squeeze of a left hand
DAYS is a band made up of Ethan Philbrick and Ned Riseley. Philbrick is a cellist and writer. He holds a PhD in performance studies from NYU and his book, Group Works: Art, Politics, and Collective Ambivalence, was recently published by Fordham University Press. Riseley is a musician, writer, and actor. Riesely is also part of the duo Friends Who Folk, and also makes solo music.
